[quote=jaybird1111]Thank you, Damon. Hope you're doing well!
FYI
"TUNING THE NACRA EIGHTEEN SQUARE METER
John Brink - 1980 Class Secretary
The NACRA 18 Square Meter is one of the fastest sailboats in the world. However, it is very sensitive to sail and rig adjustments. While there is no guarantee that you will have the fastest NACRA 18 Square Meter on the water, if you set your boat up as follows, you will have a good starting point for further adjustments and your boat will be very pleasant to race.
Believe it or not, the best starting place is at the top of the mast. The NACRA 18 Square Meter is set up so that, if you wish, you may convert to an internal halyard by adding a sheave in the after side of the section near the top. Consequently, the geometry of the rig is based on the premise that the sail doesn’t go all the way to the top of the mast section. Make sure that when your halyard lock is engaged, the sail is a few inches shy of being fully hoisted. If the sail goes up all the way, the boom will be too short.
Now, to adjust the rest of the battens. The theory behind modern (1980) sail batten combination is to use relatively flexible battens and tie them in without much tension. Because the battens are flexible, the sail will take a nice shape in light air without much tension, and when the breeze comes up the sail will flatten itself as you sheet harder and as the wind blows the leech open. If you tie the NACRA 18 Square Meter battens too tight, the sail will be hopelessly full.
Let’s go back up to the top again. The three upper battens should be very loosely tied, perhaps not even quite taking the slack out of the line. The fourth batten down should be slightly tighter, perhaps just barely taking the slack out of the line but no tighter than that. With the fifth batten and on down, tighten the lines just enough to take out most of the vertical wrinkles along the batten pockets. However, sometimes even this may be too tight. Loose is better than tight!
Next, adjust the diamond wires until you can touch them both against the mast about three feet up from the lower diamond tangs. This is a good starting point. There is some give and take between the tension on the lower battens and on the diamond wires. The diamonds can be looser with tighter lower battens. Finding just the right combination is a matter of trial and error.
Now let’s rake the mast back to where the sail is sheeted as hard as you ever want it and with the sheet blocks almost together. Set the shrouds up with plenty of tension so that the mast won’t jump around when going through the waves. The shrouds will stretch some when new, so you might as well sail the boat hard a few times before you get too concerned with rake adjustments.
Another adjustment that is critical to both good handling and speed is rudder alignment. It helps to bend each tiller arm inboard about six inches. Whether you do this or not, you should check to make sure you have the rudders set with a slight amount of toe-in. That is, the leading edge of the rudders should be slightly closer together than the trailing edges. If the reverse is the case, besides slowing the boat, they will make the boat difficult to steer.
Now, to steer it fast. When sailing a sloop, most good sailors will pay very little attention to the main. They sail by the seat of their pants and keep an eye on the jib. With a uni-rig, there is no jib to keep an eye on and many sailors may make the mistake of transferring their attention to the main. If you look at the main, you will inevitably end up sailing too high and going slow. Sail the boat by the seat of your pants and direct your gaze ahead. You don’t have too pinch the boat (sail too high) as the extra width that comes with a NACRA 18 Square Meter allows you to drive off and build speed – perhaps covering more "ground" but at a much faster rate of speed. But, on the same hand – don’t be afraid to sail high to cover an opponent or force them over the line early. The uni-rig NACRA 18 Square Meter will out-point and sail higher and faster than most boats, especially those that are sloop rigged. You can pinch, you can foot, but either way you will be the fastest one out there after some practice and experimenting with different setups."[/quote]
